Darren Scott Lehmann (born 5 February 1970) is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005. Primarily an aggressive left-handed batsman, Lehmann was also a part-time left arm orthodox bowler, and was known for his disregard for physical fitness and modern dietary regimes. He announced his retirement from first-class cricket in November 2007. Recently he was appointed as the coach of Deccan Chargers, an IPL team. He coached Queensland during the 2010/11 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash in place of Trevor Barsby, who had resigned.
John Michael "Mickey" Arthur (born May 17, 1968) is a South African cricketer who played South African domestic cricket from 1986 to 2001. He coached the South African national team from 2005 to 2010, and is the current coach of the Australia national cricket team.
Arthur was born in Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa. He is an old boy of Westville Boys' High School.
Arthur scored 6557 runs playing for Orange Free State, Griqualand West and South Africa A before retiring 2001. He started his coaching career by coaching Griquas in the domestic competition before taking over the Eastern Cape side in 2003. In his last two series in charge Arthur managed to guide them to the finals of the Standard Bank Pro20 Series. He was a surprising choice to take over as the national coach in May 2005, succeeding Ray Jennings.
He had a tough introduction into international cricket with his first two Test series as coach happened to be against a rampant Australia, both away and at home, during which South Africa were easily beaten. An injury-hit South Africa failed to make the finals of the 2005-06 VB Series, but they did clinch a tense one-day series win over Australia at home, which culminated in that iconic match at Johannesburg. A home win over New Zealand was followed up by a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka in the summer of 2006, where South Africa lost both Tests and pulled out of a tri-series after a bomb exploded in Colombo, and failure to make the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. Successes include back-to-back Test and one-day series victories against India and Pakistan at home propelled South Africa to the top of the ODI rankings. This was a major boost prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Shoaib Akhtar (b. 13 August 1975) is a former Pakistani cricketer. Shoaib holds the record for being the fastest bowler in the history of international cricket, he made his Test debut in November 1997 and played his first One Day International four months later. He played on Pakistan's Cricket Team as an attack bowler.
He has been involved in several controversies during his career, often accused of not being a team player but his presence was always felt by the opponents. Akhtar was sent home during the Test match series in Australia in 2005 for alleged poor attitude. A year later, he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive to a banned substance. However, the ban imposed on him was lifted on court appeal. In September 2007, Akhtar was banned for an indefinite period for his fight with Pakistan team mate and fast bowler Mohammad Asif. On 1 April 2008, Akhtar was banned for five years for publicly criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board. In October 2008, the Lahore High Court in Pakistan suspended the five year ban and Akhtar was selected in the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 Quadrangular Tournament in Canada. Pakistani judge, Rana Bhagwandas stated once that, Akhtar is a legend of Pakistan cricket. He retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM (born 11 February 1937) is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971. An opening batsman with a reputation for resolute defence, he had the ability to spend long periods of time at the crease. As his career progressed, he wound back his strokeplay to the point where he was described by an English journalist as "the corpse with pads on". Lawry was unceremoniously dumped as captain and player for the final Test of the 1970–71 Ashes series in Australia. Lawry's sacking is regarded as one of the more distasteful incidents in Australian cricket history—he was not informed personally of the selectors' decision before the decision was first broadcast on radio and he only became aware of his fate when confronted by reporters. Lawry is part of Channel Nine's cricket commentary team and has been in the role for over 30 years.
Jermaine Jay Charles Lawson (born 13 January 1982, Jamaica) is a West Indian cricketer who has played in 13 Tests and 13 ODIs.
Lawson is a fast bowler capable of bowling over 150 km/h. His accomplishments in his first few matches include the rare figures of 6/3 against Bangladesh in his third Test, a hat-trick against Australia in 2003/04, claiming the wickets of Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill and Justin Langer, and a haul of 7/78 against Australia which was important in the West Indian victory in the final Test of that series.
However, his action has been suspect: he was reported for an "illegal action" on 11 May 2003 by the International Cricket Council. After remedial work, he returned to Test cricket in mid-2004, but stress fractures and a further reporting of his action in July 2005 have stalled his career to date.
In the summer of 2007 he joined Great Harwood Cricket Club in the Ribblesdale League as their professional.
On 29 Feb 2008 it was announced that Lawson would be joining English side Leicestershire as a Kolpak player for the upcoming county season.